[Dixielandjazz] Boehm vs. Albert

[Phil Wilking]

As a banjo player, not a clarinetist, I am curious about a small something I 
have noticed repeatedly:

An Albert clarinet usually sounds "mellower" to me than a Boehm; to me a 
Boehm frequently has a tiny rasp in its tone. This is without knowing the 
make or grade of the instruments.

I have been told that this may be because the speaker hole on an Albert is 
on top while on a Boehm it is underneath and there is a tiny standpipe 
around the Boehm speaker hole to keep water from running down the player's 
thumb. The guess was that the standpipe disrupted the air column causing the 
rasp.

Do any clarinetists have any good information about this?

Phil Wilking

Those who would exchange freedom for security
deserve to have neither freedom nor security.